This invention relates to a display unit in a selective calling receiver such as a pager (hereinafter referred to as "a selective calling receiver display unit", when applicable) which has a function of displaying messages etc.
Recently, in a selective calling receiver, its power consumption has been greatly reduced; that is, an improvement of current decreasing means has been a problem to be solved. In this connection, a selective calling receiver having a timer or switch has been known in the art. In the case of a selective calling receiver having a timer, as shown in a flow chart of FIG. 4A, when the screen display is turned on (signal arrival time), the timer is started, and when a time-out occurs, the timer operates to turn off the screen display. On the other hand, in the case of a selective calling receiver having a switch, as shown in a flow chart of FIG. 4B, the screen display is kept turned off as long as the switch is depressed, and upon arrival of a signal, the user turns on the switch, and after the signal has been read, the switch is turned off.
The above-described conventional selective calling receiver having a timer or switch suffers from the following problems. The user must turn off the screen display. In addition, although it is necessary for the user to watch the screen display, the timer is operated to turn off the screen display.